A £2.2m record for English silver
AT 11 1/2 stone and 4ft 3in (1.3m) wide, it is big enough to bathe in. Baron Raby’s wine cistern was ordered from the workshops of goldsmith Philip Rollos in 1705 as part of his ambassadorial plate in his capacity as Ambassador Extraordinary to the King of Prussia in Berlin.
It was certainly a statement-maker.
Marked for 1705/6 and engraved with the arms of Queen Anne, the …